It is known that disordered fetal growth which is caused by many events including maternal undernutrition during pregnancy, as well as having immediate effects on the fetus, may have long term health consequences for individuals (Barker, D. J. Outcome of low birthweight, Hormone Research 42:223-230, 1994; Barker, D. J. Growth in utero and coronary heart disease, Nutr. Rev., 52:S1-S7, 1996). In particular, it has become evident that in addition to the well recognised long term sequelae of persistent growth failure, disordered fetal growth is associated with a higher incidence of hypertension, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and metabolic disorders in adulthood. (Barker, D. J. Outcome of low birthweight, Hormone Research 42:223-230, 1994; Barker, D. J. Growth in utero and coronary heart disease, Nutr. Rev., 52:S1-S7, 1996; Woodall, S. M., et al., Chronic Maternal Undernutrition in the Rat Leads to Delayed Postnatal Growth and Elevated Blood Pressure in Offspring, Pediatr. Res. 40: 438-443, 1996).
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a particularly significant problem in the adult population. This is because it is common, its consequences are far reaching and can be devastating and the symptoms do not show until late in its course, High blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease and strokes. It can also lead to congestive heart failure, aortic dissection, and renal failure. Over half of patients with angina pectoris, sudden death, stroke, and atherothrombotic occlusion of the abdominal aorta or its branches have hypertension. Greater than 70% of people with dissecting aortic aneurysm, intracerbral haemorrhage, or rupture of the mycoardial wall have high blood pressure. It is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis. Treatment of high blood pressure can prolong life. Screening programmes reveal that 25% of the general population are hypertensive (Schoen, F. J. (1994). Blood Vessels. In Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. Edited by R. S. Cotran, V. Kumar, and F. J. Schoen. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company. 467-516). The prevalence of high blood pressure increases with age. However, in older age groups the disease is usually relatively mild compared to that in young adults where it is often more sever. Approximately 90 to 95% of hypertension is idiopathic and of the remaining 5 to 10%, most is secondary to renal disease. Both primary and secondary hypertension may be either benign or malignant.
In the majority of cases, hypertension remains at a modest level and fairly stable from years to decades. However, if the raised blood pressure is not controlled by anti-hypertensive agents, it frequently causes disability and death from heart failure, and substantially increases the risk of myocardial infarction and strokes. Approximately 5% of people have malignant hypertension where blood pressure rapidly increases and if left untreated, leads to death in one to two years.
Recognising the significance of the problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of treating hypertension, in at least a subset of the population (individuals which experienced intrauterine undernutrition or growth retardation or an adverse postnatal environment), or at least to offer the public a useful choice.